California · Nonprofit
CURIODYSSEY
CURIODYSSEY (California) receives grants from 80 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,188,620 to it, the largest being KATTOM FOUNDATION ($2,850,000). 55 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $5.3M
- Funders on record
- 80
- Grants received
- $16M
- Net assets
- $13M
What Curiodyssey does
Mission
Curiodyssey, a science playground and zoo, inspires a love for science and curiosity about the world to create a brighter future. We do this by letting kids loose to observe what is, ask "what if and let the natural world answer their questions. We give kids the real power of science.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Wildlife habitats:Curiodyssey houses nearly 70 animals- from newts and millipedes to eagles and river otters. These animals allow children to experience and understand the natural world. All of the animals housed at Curiodyssey are unable to be released into the wild due to old physical injuries they obtained in the wild or habituation to humans. Most do not have the skills to care for themselves, while others cannot avoid predation in the wild. Our animals reinforce the organization's mission by taking center stage in our wildlife habitats, school-based programs, and public programs. Curiodyssey is accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums (aza). The aza accredits fewer than 20% of zoos and aquariums nationwide.
$1,094,399 spentof which $8,000 as grants$52,522 earned by the program22% of program spendingExhibits/public programs:this year we completed the fourth year of the stemcorps mentor program, connecting 20 students with 20 mentors in biweekly virtual 1:1 mentor sessions where different stem concepts were explored through hands-on stem activities. The stemcorps initiative was created to connect a Curiodyssey trained team of educators, mentors, caregivers and community partners to support youth from underrepresented communities and empower them to pursue opportunities to engage in science, technology, engineering, and math (stem) learning. Camp Curiodyssey continues to be our flagship program. It engaged 733 campers in an immersive journey exploring natural phenomena through science and in the natural world. The camp program fosters creativity, imagination and appreciation for nature. Each camp provides personal, interactive experiences for preschool through fourth grade youth. This year 3,290 children received scholarship support and 66 organizations received scholarship support for field trips or science workshops. Curiodyssey's camp inclusion program supported 72 children with needs and accommodations and their families. Sensory sundays, a quarterly event welcoming…
$1,443,396 spent$617,725 earned by the program29% of program spendingCommunity outreach/guest services:community outreach is part of Curiodyssey's practice and allows us to enact our value of centering marginalized voices. We do this through ongoing education programs for regional schools and community events. We increased access by expanding qualifying criteria for families and schools to receive free or reduced admission and program fees. Through the museums for all program, 4,700 visitors received free admission and 505 qualified families accessed free membership. Curiodyssey also provides free admission for casa volunteers and the children in their care. We continue to provide free admission for a child with the discover & go program through local libraries.we are continuously developing our website as a resource for science information for students, parents and teachers. Marketing plays a vital role in informing teachers, parents, and children about our educational programs and exhibits and encouraging a scientific mindset. Curiodyssey's rental spaces provide a natural setting for a variety of events, including birthday parties, weddings, company retreats, and other celebrations. For evening events, guests have access to our beautiful gardens…
$937,966 spent$1,138,459 earned by the program19% of program spendingSchool/service volunteers:Curiodyssey offers an active school services program to bay area schools that includes on-site and classroom-based programs and field trips. The museum makes a special effort to accommodate schools and students who would otherwise be unable to enjoy the Curiodyssey programs.volunteers play a vital role in supporting Curiodyssey's mission. During fy25, over 370 volunteers contributed more than 12,000 hours across the organization. This represents an estimated $300,000 in contributed value. While the program experienced some natural attrition, overall volunteer hours remained strong, resulting in meaningful impact across departments. This foundation positions the program for continued growth in fy26 through expanded recruitment efforts, new volunteer offerings, and a focused investment in enhancing volunteer engagement and experience. Gardens - Curiodyssey's 1.3 acres of gardens provide a beautiful and educational experience for visitors year-round. The gardens also serve as an outdoor laboratory for our classes and programs to investigate plants, insects, and birds.museum store - the Curiodyssey shop fulfills another part of the organization's educational…
$1,562,745 spent$166,044 earned by the program31% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,038,506.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $16M to $13M (−19%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 15% · 2022 1% · 2023 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
55% of CURIODYSSEY’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (63% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Ashish Motivala
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2020 and FY2021, and between the FY2022 and FY2023 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 21 funders to 38 funders, grant income rose $539k → $2.1M.
15 of 80 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 39% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of CURIODYSSEY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 80 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
CURIODYSSEY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 18% of grant income, and it takes 6 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 6 funders to its left
42% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund CURIODYSSEY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 23% · 2018 31% · 2019 40% · 2020 33% · 2021 42% · 2022 18% · 2023 32% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
47% of CURIODYSSEY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 69% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
94% of CURIODYSSEY's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $6.3M arriving through sponsors registered in 10 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
CURIODYSSEY is better cushioned than half of the 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,430 arts & culture nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like CURIODYSSEY
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
77% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for CURIODYSSEY: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds CURIODYSSEY?
- CURIODYSSEY (California) receives grants from 80 organizations whose IRS filings report $16,188,620 to it, the largest being KATTOM FOUNDATION ($2,850,000). 55 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does CURIODYSSEY have?
- IRS filings report 80 organizations giving $16,188,620 in grants to CURIODYSSEY, 55 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of CURIODYSSEY?
- KATTOM FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $2,850,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like CURIODYSSEY find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Curiodyssey →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 80 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing